


Mac + Escape +Rebar

by NYWCgirl



Series: Febuwhump 2021 [4]
Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: CaringJack, Doctor/Patient, Escape, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Impaling, Medical Jargon, Medical Procedures, Serious Injuries, whumpmac
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-15 18:22:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29193744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NYWCgirl/pseuds/NYWCgirl
Summary: We all saw the opening of S1 E3, but what if Mac landed on a rebar?
Series: Febuwhump 2021 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2137467
Comments: 10
Kudos: 34





	Mac + Escape +Rebar

**Author's Note:**

> The fic fills prompt 4 of Febuwhump, which was ‘Impaling.’

_In my line of work, no one expects to live forever. I know I'm not exactly a "safety first" kind of guy, but I thought I'd at least make it to 30._

‘How's our exit strategy coming?’

‘Just hacked a Somali government database and downloaded the blueprints. There's a stairwell on your right in 300 feet.’

‘Well, did Thornton get the coordinates we sent?’

‘I did, indeed. We're targeting a drone strike. General Dalmar's chemical weapons factory should be history in three, two, one. Mission accomplished. Come on home, boys.’

Whoa. No, no, no, no, no, no!

‘Riley, I don't suppose there's another staircase we can use.’

‘Uh, no. What's wrong with that one?’

‘It'd probably be quicker to tell you what's not wrong with it.’

‘Okay, there's a window about 50 feet down the hall on your left. But there is one catch.’

When they arrive at the windows, Mac takes a deep breathe, ‘That's a pretty big catch.’

Mac looks around, finding some body bags, he wonders what they are doing here in the hospital, normally they are only found in morgues, but who is he to be picky? Then he grabs the fire extinguishers.

‘Unless you can find about 50 more of those, we still got a pretty major problem here.’

‘Relax.’

‘The only thing on my bucket list is getting out of this building alive.’

‘Take care of that window for me, please.’

When he is done making his two “life jackets”, he hands one to Jack and pulls the other one on. He explains what the idea is and Jack holds on to the handle of the fire extinguisher.

‘Any last words?’ he chuckles at Jack, he has never been good in controlling his nerves when it comes to heights.

The both let themselves fall backwards out of the window and Mac counts in his head.

‘Now!’ he shouts and engages the fire extinguisher.

They land and even through the inflated body bag took the brunt of the fall, it still knocks the wind out of him.

‘Hey, Mac.’

‘Yeah?’ he croaks.

‘I think I can cross pooping my pants off my bucket list.’ Jack chuckles.

Mac huffs, he really hurts. Well, that was of course to be expected when you fall from a four story window.

‘Hey Mac? Come on man, are you alright?’

Jack suddenly crouches next to him, he can see horror in Jack’s eyes. Even though he clearly does his best to stay calm, Jack’s hands are trembling. He has never seen that before, not even in the sandbox. Jack doesn’t do panic.

‘Yeah, I must have hurt my back, I don´t know, maybe it is my chest.’

‘Mac, I want you to stay very still OK? Don´t move. I am serious man.’

Jack is pale, so something must be very wrong.

‘What is wrong?’

‘There is a rebar sticking out of your neck.’

Mac closes his eyes while he can hear Jack talking to Thornton. Their exfil is already coming towards their coordinates. Now that he knows what is wrong it appears the pain is getting more pronounced.

* * *

  
  
‘Good evening esteemed colleagues. Tonight doctor Connor will bring an interesting case.’

The moderator checks his notes, ‘involving a thoracic impalement by a steel reinforcing bar.’

Doctor Conner gets behind the speakers’ chair and starts his power point.

‘A twenty-six year old male fell from the fourth story from an abandoned hospital. He landed on his back impaled on a half-inch-diameter reinforcing bar, known as a rebar. He initially complained to his co-worker of chest pain, but no shortness of breath, there was no external hemorrhage. Since there was no emergency medical service present where the two men resided, the co-worker cut the rebar to facilitate helicopter air transportation.’

A hand is raised in the audience.

‘Yes?’

‘Is this a construction worker?’

‘No information about the man’s profession were given by his medical proxy, which turns out to be the co-worker.’

The other doctor shares a look with the doctor next to him.

‘The helicopter crew had a medic on board who placed the man in a lateral decubitus position. On arrival to a trauma center, the man complained of dyspnea and back, neck and left pleuritic pain. Admission vital signs as you can see on the presentation were:

Temperature 36.2°C

Bloodpressure: 139/88 mmHg

Heart rate: 113/minute

Respiratory rate: 28/minute

Dyspneic

SaO2 92 percent on 4 liter nasal cannula after the patient refused an oxygen mask.

Breath sounds were equal bilaterally, without stridor, or subcutaneous emphysema. There were no hard signs of vascular injury. The rebar entered the lower back left of the vertebral column, exiting the left neck in zone 2.

He was immediately taken to an OR to establish an airway in the right lateral decubitus position. The stretcher was positioned adjacent to the OR table separated by two arm boards. The patient was positioned supine with the rebar in the space between the stretcher and table. A modified rapid sequence induction was performed and oral intubation accomplished using a 8.0 ETT by Glidescope. Vascular access and chest radiograph were performed and the fire rescue squad was asked to cut the rebar protruding from the back, allowing standard supine positioning on the OR table.

After sternotomy and control of the great vessels, the left mediastinal pleura was opened. The rebar entered five centimeters lateral to the vertebral column, fracturing the 7th rib, impaling the upper lobe, and exiting through the fractured 2nd rib a small hemothorax, no chest wall or apical hematoma and moderate upper lobe bleeding. The neck wound was extended along the anterior border of the sternocleidomastoid and control of the carotid artery and internal jugular vein obtained. Under direct vision, a 20 cm length of rebar was slowly withdrawn from the neck without incident. The upper lobe injury was resected with a surgical stapler. Clothing was removed from the back wound, the chest thoroughly irrigated, chest tubes placed and the sternum closed. The neck and back wounds were debrided, irrigated, and packed open. The postoperative course was uncomplicated, he was extubated on the first postoperative day, chest drains removed sequentially, and was discharged on postoperative day 5. At the sixth-month follow-up, he is doing well and has returned to work.’

* * *

‘We can still get him Jack, I’ll just jump. I can cut him off.’

Jack physically holds Mac back.

‘No way Mac, you are not jumping from this building.’

‘But…’

‘No ifs, ands or buts. You are still recuperating from major surgery, there was a rebar sticking out of your back and neck, remember?’

Mac’s hand unconsciously feels for the scar in his neck.

‘Yeah, that one, genius. I don´t ever need to see that again, Mac. Let him go, we will catch him. He is dumb enough and he will make a mistake and then we will catch him.’

Mac comes down from his adrenaline high and nods at Jack, ‘you are right. It is not worth it.’

  
_  
_

**Author's Note:**

> The doctor’s report was taken from a real event that took place with a construction worker which was published in The American surgeon in January 2018, vol. 84


End file.
